Flowers
by Shiny Pichu-chan
Summary: After ten years, Gray decides to visit his parent's grave. GrayxNatsu
1. Proposal

Sunlight poured in through the open window like rainfall, catching every inch of the room a little at a time in a brilliant golden glow. The blanket of light eventually flowed over the bed, catching the dragon slayer's sleeping face. He flinched at the sudden warmth, having gotten used to the cold of the room during the night, and muttered a bit irritably to himself something along the lines of stupid ice bastards who had never heard of curtains before, and rolled over into the shady part of the bed.

Still half-asleep, the fire mage instinctively nestled closer to the other side of the bed, expecting the feel of cool skin against his own and arms wrapping around a well-built frame with a kiss good morning and—

…But only empty sheets awaited him. Gray wasn't there.

Suddenly very awake, Natsu sat up in bed and quickly scanned the room for any signs of the ice wizard. There were none. He couldn't smell breakfast either, that being one of the only reasons Gray would ever get up and not bother to wake Natsu as well. And that was a rare occurrence anyway, considering what a crappy cook he was. Not that Natsu was any better.

"…Jerk," the dragon slayer glared daggers at the door, "Leaving without waking me up."

Natsu yawned once, and reluctantly crawled out of bed. He still felt tired, but, with Gray gone the bed felt empty and he didn't feel like going back to sleep. He stretched a little, yawned again, and began to get dressed.

It was while tying his scarf around his neck that Natsu noticed the note on the bed.

He wondered if that had been there just a few minutes before. Although, noticing the wrinkled pattern on the clean white paper, Natsu figured he had rolled over it sometime during the early morning, only spotting it till he had gotten out of bed.

With a confused yet curious stare, the fire mage went over and plucked the note off the sheets, and began to read the ink-ridden chicken scratch:

_Sorry. Have some business to take care of today. Head to the guild without me and tell Erza and the rest I won't be there. I'll be back by tonight. _

Natsu blinked once, "Something to do today…?" But confusion quickly gave way to anger as he crumpled up the paper in his fist and set it ablaze, "And who does he think I am, his carrier pigeon?" he growled.

Tossing the burned scraps in the trash, Natsu stomped out of the apartment, not bothering to lock the door behind him—though taking care to slam it shut—and headed towards the guild, already furious enough to throw a table against the wall, and it wasn't even past nine.

* * *

"Ah, sorry…I'm not much for flowers, so…what would you recommend?"

The owner of the small flower shop downtown was a pleasant old man, in his late fifties, and had run the stall for some time now in Magnolia, so much so that even most of the wizards back at Fairy Tail knew him by name, and said his shop was the only place to go to for any floral needs. The owner had light tan skin, hair going gray and bald, though still looking strong and energetic, even in a bright green apron, and he wore the most genial of smiles.

The florist chuckled kindly, "Haha, that's alright lad. It's what I'm here for. Might I ask what the occasion is?"

There was a bit of a pause at the unexpected question, "…Well, uh…something…for a grave…" was the awkward reply.

The florist's hazel eyes softened, while the smile still remained, but it was one of understanding and comfort, and it somehow lessened the other's anxiety.

"Wait right there a moment, I have just the thing."

With a swift turn the florist disappeared into the small, but cozy flower stand, and was nearly indistinguishable amongst the forest of blooming bouquets and blossoms of more colors and shades than one could count. But almost as soon as he left the man reappeared, and with a bulky bouquet of flowers of several different kinds all wrapped together in an elegant scarlet paper tied with a golden string. It was almost like magic the way he had gathered everything up so fast.

As the florist handed the flowers over with a cheerful smile, he motioned to each blossom delicately as he spoke again.

"I thought chrysanthemums would be best to have most of," he began with a pleasant nod of his head, "Red ones signify love. So do the camellia there. And I thought plenty of Forget-Me-Nots would be a nice touch. A few Calla Lilies there. Poppies here. Some Tea Rose there. Oh, and this is the last of the Zinnia, so you take good care of those. Some Garlic on the side, and pink Carnations bring it all together. Does this look alright, sir?"

"I-it looks great, but, there's no way I can afford all of—"

"Nonsense, lad," the man interrupted with a laugh, "You'll pay for the chrysanthemums and that's what you get. But as the owner I'm afraid I must insist on the rest, on the house, for the sake of such a beautiful looking bouquet."

There was another pause, "Well…in that case…thank you very much." An uncertain smile.

He paid the florist kindly and slung the large mass of flowers over his shoulder before he began walking down the crowded street. And for a moment he inwardly sighed with relief, believing himself to be in the clear before—

"Gray?"

The ice mage jerked to a stop. There was no mistaking that voice.

_"He's probably mad about the note…" _Gray thought faintly as he watched with dread as Natsu stomped over to him, a livid expression on his face. He thought about running, but the dragon slayer would no doubt catch up to him in no time, especially if he was angry enough.

"What the hell was with this morning?" Natsu yelled once the two were face-to-face, "You leave with a note saying you're out busy doing something today and here I find you pickin' flowers and running off somewhere!"

Avoiding the stares various bystanders were giving the two, Gray rubbed the back of his head and looked away, an expression halfway between annoyance and genuine guilt, "Look, I'm sorry about that. It just wasn't—" he abruptly stopped, as if he had begun saying something he shouldn't have, looking uncomfortable again, and he wasn't sure whether to finish or simply change the subject, "…it just…" but after a glance at the bouquet in his hands, he chose the former, "…wasn't something I...wanted to tell you…" he finished with a light sigh of defeat, never once looking Natsu in the eye.

At the generally pained expression on the other's face, Natsu's anger dulled, replaced with the previous puzzlement and curiosity from before, "…What do you mean?"

Opting to stare down at the flowers in his arms rather than look at the fire mage, Gray smiled lightly, though it held no cheer, and confessed, "I thought I'd…go visit my hometown for a while."

All of a sudden Natsu found his throat to be incredibly dry, leaving him unable to respond with anything, though he couldn't help the look of surprise on his features.

Sensing the other's discomfort, the ice mage suddenly became more relaxed, and the smile was a touch more genuine as he abruptly asked,

"…Want to join me?"


	2. Visit&Departure

**TO ALL MY READERS AND REVIEWERS: **

I don't usually like to leave Author's Notes before or after my writing. For a couple of reasons. But those don't apply at the moment. There's been something I've been wanting to say to all of you for a while, and I think right now would be best time to say it. I apologize in advance if this ends up being long.

_Thank you so much_. To everyone who's given me such wonderful reviews and favorites and alerts that have made me smiled and laughed and even cried. I'm actually not a very confident person with my writing. I write a LOT more than I put up on this site, because I get nervous if it's good enough or not. But for the few I feel confident enough to share...you don't know how much it means to me to hear so much positive feedback, and to hear people enjoying and loving what they read. You guys are really the friendliest bunch of people. I love you all for what you've said and done. You make me want to keep writing, even through the most depressing of writer's blocks.

THAT is the reason this story took so long to update. I quickly lost inspiration for this idea after page three or so. Although I had everything planned, I couldn't decide how to properly end it, and the real message I wanted to express was difficult to find the right words for. I re-wrote this last chapter about five times or so, before I finally settled with this. It went into a whole other direction than I had originally planned, and it's a little cornier than I would have liked...but the thing I hate most in this world is writing an unfinished story. So I pushed on and got it done.

But this story would have never been finished without the encouragement of all you wonderful reviewers. This chapter is dedicated to you, with all my gratitude for your support.

Again, thank you.

* * *

Gray found almost everything to be exactly the way he had left it.

Of course…the destruction and ruin of the town he had once called home had been mostly cleared away so only an empty dirt valley remained; the ground no doubt too damaged from Deliora's rampage for any sort of greenery to grow again—besides the occasional weed or other unwanted plant. And along with the leftover debris from the horror of ten years ago, it made the area quite lonely and desolate, despite the vivid blue sky above where healthy white clouds inched along through the beautiful afternoon.

But perhaps it was better that way. It almost looked as if a town had never existed. Like anguish and death had never reached here. Which made it a bit less painful for the ice mage to look at.

The crunching of Gray's footsteps sounded loud to his ears as he and Natsu walked along the dirt path in silence. For Gray he simply couldn't think of anything to say. But the dragon slayer's stillness was probably due more to the lingering traces of motion sickness from the two hour train ride it took to even get to a populated place close to the area. It wasn't as if train tracks reached a previously-existing town, after all. The two mages had to walk a few miles from the last city to get where they were now. But in any case, the ice wizard was a bit thankful for the excuse to not converse with the other. Things already felt awkward enough. Although he supposed it was his own fault for inviting Natsu along. A mystery Gray was _still_ trying to figure out in his head…

It wasn't long before the trail they were on opened up to an area where the ground was more debris-ridden and flattened. There were even still hunks of buildings jutting from the ground, the rest buried deep in the sand. All definite signs they had reached their destination.

Once they arrived at the area where his hometown once stood, Gray was careful to keep his gaze low to the ground. Otherwise he might unconsciously start pointing out spots where shops and houses he remembered once existed. And if he didn't have a need to see where he was going, he would have chosen to close his eyes as well, because even the smallest broken plank or smashed brick and glass scattered along the ground somehow stirred up memories he tried his best to forget.

Gray didn't dare turn around to look at Natsu. Although from his footsteps he could tell the other had purposely slowed down slightly to look around at the remaining signs of death and destruction around them. Faintly Gray wondered that if, to an outsider, this sight was just as dismal and sickening as it was to him…

Finally, they began to trek uphill. That was where the "graveyard" lied.

…At the time, soon after Ur and Lyon had found him and treated his wounds, up on higher ground was the only place where there was any room to erect any sort of grave markers, considering down below was simply a valley of broken wood and rock and torn up structures. So, as a child, Gray had done his best to find something suitable with the limited supply of materials he had to choose from as gravestones. And in the end, with Ur and Lyon's help, he had settled with the damaged stone pillars that were once used to support the buildings and homes of his fellow townspeople. Although they could hardly be recognized as that, what with the destruction they had survived through. But they still managed to stand tall and proud when pounded into the ground. And more importantly, there were plenty of them.

He had tried his best to account for everyone who had died that day. But, of course, that was impossible, as it was finding the bodies to bury. So he had simply made as many graves as he could until his hands were swollen and bloody and his legs felt like jelly.

And yet, Gray remembered his parent's grave being the very last one he constructed. He had chosen it to be a bit separate from all the others, so he could tell it apart from the rest, and had it assembled on the very edge of the cliff, overlooking what was once their home.

It was all the same as he had left it.

As Gray trekked up and down the slopping hills, he did his best to avoid looking around at the somber sea of grave markers. It only made his legs and heart feel heavier. They seemed to tower over him, looking down on his pitiful existence, burning a hole right through him.

He could feel Natsu staring at him from behind, and Gray was surprised at how quiet he had been up till now. Of course, it wasn't exactly the time or place for the Salamander to go running his mouth off like he usually did, but Gray at least expected a question or two. Or maybe light conversation, to ease the tense atmosphere hovering around them. When Natsu was quiet like that, it only made the ice mage uneasy. Because otherwise he couldn't tell what the other was thinking.

Gray was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt himself going slightly uphill again, and it was then that he finally looked up…and spotted the lone stone pillar that marked his parent's grave.

Against his will, Gray found himself freezing to the spot.

All of a sudden his legs felt like lead as he stopped a few yards away from the headstone. He faintly registered Natsu halting as well from behind him, but aside from that, his mind went numb.

"…Gray?" Natsu's voice came up from behind him, but the ice mage paid him no mind, unable to hear the other in his daze.

…There was a pang at his chest. Something like guilt. Or fear. Even worry. Some emotion he couldn't quite name just yet. But either way, it made his whole body freeze up, and he seemed cut off from the world. It was only him and the grave. The only thing that seemed tangible and real was the blooming bouquet he held in his hands, still giving off a wonderfully pleasant aroma that made the place seem even more barren in comparison.

Now he knew why it had taken him ten years to come back here.

Gray swallowed, trying to rid himself of the lump in his throat. Still his legs wouldn't move. He shifted his gaze back to the ground then. Looking at the grave marker too long made his eyes burn.

Suddenly…Gray felt a hand on his shoulder. He jerked up slightly in surprise, as a concerned yet stern look from Natsu came into view.

"Hey…you okay?" he asked hesitantly, giving the other a slightly puzzled stare.

It was only then that Gray realized how he had frozen up, as a twinge of humiliation shot through him for having let Natsu see him like that. He quickly erased all traces of anxiety and fear from his features to give the other a slight smile. Normally he'd be more annoyed and retort back with something angrily defensive but….he couldn't quite find the energy for such a thing. Not this time.

"Y-yeah…I'm fine," was his feeble reply, managing to look back at the grave marker without flinching, and suddenly he felt a bit more confident, "Wait here. I won't take long."

Taking the first step was the hardest. It was like pulling his feet out of quicksand. But it became easier with each stride, like momentum. Yet it still felt like it took hours to finally reach that flimsy little piece of stone, which somehow looked so much more grand and sacred when he was a kid. But he supposed that was how most things are when you're young.

When he was finally standing in front of it, the ice mage took a lengthy pause.

Ironically, he really couldn't take his eyes off it anymore, that sad looking grave. Or rather, what it perhaps represented. That old self of his, which he had shed off and discarded. That younger, naïve little person that didn't give a damn about anyone but himself and vengeance. That boy who was unable to look towards the future. Only the past.

But he wasn't a boy anymore. He had grown. And he had broadened his horizons in his tiny little world. He met many people, saw many places. And in growth and age and meeting you learn things. Instinctively. The kinds of things you don't learn in school.

You learn what's really important in life.

…Gray allowed himself a small smile, before he stepped forward and carefully placed the bundle of flowers in front of the headstone.

He took a step back as the action was done, and again there was that hesitation in his stance that kept his feet and eyes glued to where they were. Almost as if he didn't know what to do next. But in reality…he was simply afraid.

However, after a few moments, he had gathered up enough nerve to sit down in front of the grave marker, legs crossed, hands placed neatly in his lap.

There was a long stretch of silence then. The wind blew softly, kicking up some dust into the air and ruffling the colored paper of the bouquet, though not enough to move it from its spot on the cliff.

Part of Gray didn't even realize it was his own voice speaking suddenly to break the silence, as the words seemed to fall out of his mouth on their own.

"….Sorry it's been so long."

He allowed the words to hang in the air a moment, his gaze shifting downward, and a smile tickled at his lips at the thought of how silly this was. But still, he continued to speak to oblivion.

"I would have visited sooner, but…" Gray hesitantly looked back up at the grave, "…I don't think it would have been a 'me' that you would've liked to see." He chuckled a bit at his own foolishness, still talking in such a way.

…But perhaps it helped him explain a little something to himself. The most important being: Why was he here now?

"…I…went and learned magic. From a fantastic teacher. Maybe you've already met her…" In the back of his mind, Gray faintly thought how funny it was that an adult could sound like such a child when in the face of their parents, "….I thought I'd avenge the both of you…but I should've known that was stupid from the start." This chuckle was bitter.

The wind picked up again, pulling at the long bangs covering his eyes, as he had moved his gaze back to the ground.

"But…even knowing that…I was still an idiot of a son," Gray continued quietly, "…..I was ready to die, you know? For something that…would've been absolutely pointless…" the bitterness in his smile was gradually disappearing, "But I was saved. And I've learned from that. I'm not eager to throw my life away anytime soon. I just wanted you both to know that."

He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

That was enough talking.

Gray then turned and rummaged through his bag he'd be carrying for the whole trip. Natsu had pestered him a lot about what was in it, but Gray wouldn't say. Not that it was a secret or anything. He just didn't see why it mattered. Plus, he just enjoyed irritating Natsu by keeping things from him. He could make pretty cute faces when mad.

After a second or two, Gray then pulled out a few sticks of incense(1), tied together with string, and a holder for them. He leaned over and placed the finely carved out plate in front of the grave, near the flowers, before shoving a hand back into his back to pull out a lighter and…felt nothing.

"…damn…"

He'd forgotten the lighter.

Gray nearly dreaded turning around. But he did anyway, craning his neck as he sat to try spotting where a certain hotheaded mage was downhill a ways. Natsu hadn't wandered off too far. But seemed to be struggling with his foot caught in a gopher hole in the ground or something, which would have made Gray laugh out loud if it wasn't so Natsu-like.

Gray called out the other's name, which made the Salamander's head shoot up while he gave one last strong tug that ended up being a little _too_ strong as he flung himself onto his back with a loud and painful _thud_, his foot now free. But Natsu quickly stood and dusted himself off like nothing had happened before jogging uphill to where Gray sat.

"What's up?"

Gray held out the incense to him, "Light these for me."

With mild surprise, Natsu shrugged his shoulders a bit and complied, kneeling down next to the other and grabbing a hold of his wrist to keep the sticks steady, then blowing out a small puff of fire from his mouth, which neatly lit up the incense like candles.

Gray withdrew his hand and promptly blew the flames out, making a steady wisp of smoke rise from the thin sticks, along with a pleasant oaky smell, as they were set down inside their holder in front of the grave marker.

Gray watched the smoke rise gently into the air, dissipating in the breeze, and took in the pleasant aroma. Perhaps it was best to now leave.

Suddenly the ice mage felt a pair of arms wrap lazily around his neck from behind, while a slightly irritated voice spoke up, "…You're welcome."

"What? Oh. Thanks…" Gray replied distractedly, though brought a hand up to wrap around one of Natsu's arms. He felt warm, as usual. But it felt particularly nice with the chilly breeze of the area.

…Although he thought to get up and leave, he found himself unable to move again. But Gray wasn't sure why this time. It was an odd combination of homesickness, nostalgia, and the comfortable position he was in with Natsu that he didn't feel like breaking. Natsu really was warm. Gray always liked that about him. Not that he'd ever admit it out loud. But it made him feel calmer. Or perhaps lazy. He just wasn't used to heat after all.

Again, Gray surprised himself by his own voice speaking.

"Thanks…for coming with me here."

There was a span of silence then. Natsu didn't reply with anything. And being that he was behind Gray, the ice mage couldn't look to his expression to gauge any sort of response. But he didn't really think anything of it.

…Suddenly, Natsu removed his arms from around Gray, and promptly moved them up to pinch at the other's cheeks, while tugging on them slightly.

"O-OW! What the hell Natsu?" Gray slapped his hands away and turned to face the other, glaring daggers. Natsu still looked irritated about something. "…You little brat!" Gray then abruptly pounced on him and proceeded to do the same to Natsu's face.

But through the stinging pain the dragon slayer was grinning, which made Gray withdraw his hands and stare down at him like he was crazy.

"Hehe~ That's more like it," Natsu said, smirking, "…Are you done with all that thanks and sorry crap?"

Gray continued staring dumbly at him, before his mind fully processed things….and he broke out into a grin, chuckling.

"…You're such an idiot."

Natsu vaguely rolled his eyes, "You're the idiot here. …You said so yourself, right?"

Gray's face suddenly flushed a bright red, "….._You were_ LISTENING?" He grabbed Natsu up by the front of the scarf to glare at him nose to nose.

"Course I could. You know how sensitive my hearing is," Natsu shrugged, paying Gray's anger no mind, "What was I supposed to do? Plug up my ears and sing to myself?"

"YES," Gray fumed, shaking him a bit, "That's EXACTLY what you do!"

"Oh," Natsu replied unenthusiastically, already bored with the conversation, "Sorry."

Gray's glower became ice cold, and the temperature around them dropped a few degrees. It made Natsu slightly nervous but…..as fast as Gray's anger had risen, it was gone. The hold on Natsu was released and fell back on his behind, while Gray stood, dusting his pants off a bit, looking calm and detached. Natsu looked up at him in confusion, but the ice mage seemed to ignore him as he adjusted his bag over his shoulder and started walking back down the hill.

It was when Natsu finally stood from the ground and was about to follow after him when Gray called back,

"For that….no sex for a week."

Natsu nearly tripped over his own feet.

"WHAT? Y-you can't do that!" he shouted back, heat invading his features.

"Sure I can," Gray replied nonchalantly, not even glancing behind him as he continued walking away.

"W-wait! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I really am!" Natsu ran to catch up to the other, "Graaay!"

With his back facing the Salamander…Gray was grinning to himself, chuckling under his breath.

"…_Oh yeah…sorry Mom…Dad…_

… _But I've fallen in love with an absolute idiot…"_

_

* * *

_

(1) For those who may not know, it's custom in Japanese culture to light incense for a grave or shrine. I thought it would be nice to incorporate both American and Japanese customs for visiting a grave. Plus...I needed an excuse for more of Natsu's involvement.


End file.
